Many people listen to music (whether they want to or not) and often people sing whistle or hum the melody of something that appeals to them. Now we all have our favourite types of music. I was born in the fifties went to school in the sixties, did an apprenticeship and worked in the seventies, eighties, nineties and the early new century until certain health issues hindered employment.
My Dad was born in 1918 and he was always in uniform until he retired at 59 just before his death at aged 60. He loved military music of all types, aswell as mantovani, Jim Reeves, a Dutch electronic accordianist called John Woodhouse and most types of what he called "normal Music" As a kid, I had been to The Royal Tourmanent, Edinborough Tattoo, Trooping Of The Colour, Orange Lodge marches in Liverpool, and anywhere where Pipes, Drums, Military Bands or Bagpipes were playing locally. I was even lucky enough to go with him to Wembley Stadium, to see the very first performance by over one thousand massed bandsman, play and march for a packed audience, in the late sixties. The finish of that was the 1812 overture supported by cannon fire by the Mounted Royal Horse Artillery. (and yes, my Dad loved that as he was with the Royal Artillery from 1939 to 1946).
Because of this, my musical tastes cover a large area although RAP puts my teeth on edge. (if you can't whistle it then it must be bad). Mum and Dad asked me if I could play certain simple old sing-along music on the organ, and so I stopped trying to learn to read music from the Thomas Color-Glo course and generally found that if I could whistle it, I could play it.I have to confess that the first piece that I learned to play by ear was the simple part of"God Save The Queen" which is quite appropriate to confess too now, as the Her Majesty The Queens Diamond Jubilee
is next week.
You may be thinking what has this to do with enjoying music, well I started to LISTEN to music with my eyes closed as it became clearer what I was listening to and how the different sounds, instruments, voices and expression made up the music. Now I often see people asking the question how do people play by ear without music, and I cannot answer for others but in my case this is generally Dad bought a brand new Lowrey Citation Spinet with AOC, Golden Harp, Real Leslie Speaker (which at that time could have all voices including the reeds and strings put through it, and of course the brilliant Multi-Channel Chorus. As I played on that organ with its easily accessible flick up and down voice tabs, I started to play with my eyes closed to hear and feel what I was playing. From that I could concentrate on the bass sounds for my roving left foot, and the volume increases for the expression pedal.
it started like that and for good or bad, I play by ear, which may be so awful at times that it drives people out of shopping malls so that the management can lock up at night (I am of course joking) but I learnt to put feeling in my music. The funny thing about this is that my latest organ the Technics GA3 which came to me about 12 weeks ago has touch, which for me is a first as I never played piano and my organs keys were always dead No amount of pressure or impact would alter the volume.
To finish this post I will try to help you. Find either in your music collection, or on YouTube. "Albatross" by Fleetwood Mac, or "The Cavalry Of The Steppes" by a military band such as The Royal Hussars"or "The Whale" off the LP Out Of The Blue by The Electric Light Orchaestra, (ELO) . Now sit in a comfy chair and listen to the music WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED, and think of the title of the music, and what that represents.
In the case of "Albatross" you can feel the drifting flight of the big bird as it almost floats on the breezes across the oceans in the musical arrangement.
In the case of "The Cavalry Of The Steppes" you can hear the canter of the horses as the cavalry rides across the Steppes in Russia,, and depending on whose version it is your listening too, sleigh bells jingling, representing the tinkling and rattling of Spurs, Stirrups, Reins, and Sabres as the horses go by..
In the case of "The Whale" ELO in their arrangement managed to capture the sounds of the huge whale as it dives deep, swims, moves and lumbers along in the Ocean depths. You will even hear the bubbles!
To help you understand this, I am not putting one of my organ pieces on but a link to "The Whale" by ELO, on which the person who placed this on YOUTUBE actually has a real whale swimming on it. I heard this music on the LP Out Of The Blue which I bought in 1976 before we had decent films of Whales swimming, so I had to imagine the whale. SEE WHAT YOU THINK.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzJqjkgUZeM
Finally, just for the record, my wife Susan and I stayed in Kaikoura New Zealand in January this year. We went on The Whale Watch, and WE SAW A WHALE.
Take care till next time.
